The Brookhaven leader., 1887-01-06
TERRIBLE STORY.
Particulars of the Burning of the Steamer
Bradish johnson Many Lives LOst-A
fntaI sffox stottn On Germany:

fatsi sto~ stottn IN Germany:
MOBILE, Ala, bee. 51.--Eews was re-
ceived here Wednesday night Of the burn
ing of the steamer Bradish johnson, on the
Bigbee river, eleven miles above Mobile,
but as there is no telegraph lino ~ that
point no particulars could be obtained until
now.
A. C. Yeall, one of the bosses, gave the
following description of the fire: II had
Just gone to bed when l heard the cry OF
fire. l got into my pants and seized my
bthet effects and rushed g,1t Of the cabin.
There had been party Of men out there
blaving cards and they had seen the smoke
rising. When / came into the Cabin
the fire seemed TO Sc in tho state
room aft of the pantry on the port size;
and the men who had been playing cards
were standing there at the door looking in
at the fire. They seemed as if they were
dazed and did not know what TO do. They
lad siouted 'Hrr.' hlt there they stood
staring at it. l cried, For G5a'5 Nf'Ze'
what are you standing there for. Wake
the men up and let US get out of here.
There was an old man, an Alabamian, in
the room next to mine. / don't know his
name He was asleep when l went to the
bed for heard him snoring Whether
pot him awake or not / don't know. ham
mercd and bonndad awaF with all thy
might. You see, the smoke wae alreaty
filling the cabin and the men were running
around like mad, hardly know what hap
pened / ran forward through the cabin,
aud nv eyes ard mouth got 80 Fn'I Of smoke
that | did not know where | was going
The negroes we're mostly on the lower deck.
They al came running forward about the
same time we did, The vessel burned very
fast and was solid mass Of flames in
moment. When / had reached the
| bank / turned around and saw the pilot
| house and texas fall in with the negroes.
! They fted un the bank in a mob and rushed
! to the woods, WhCfS tF6~ huddleH like
sheep and could not be persuaded 10 CONT
| down to the boat They knew that some
| of their number were lost in the burning
| boat and they were seemingly supcrstitious
about it. They did not want TO 90 near the
| place SO the boat became mass of flames
and burned for about half an hour, when
| she sank. As soon as ] got ashore there
was report tntet there were men il
the water. Skifs were manned and
sent to their rescue. They picked up Mr.
Daly, one of the Carson men. William
Neal, an Englishman in one of the skitfs
| had two negroes right near, but they sank
NNO'A
who received slight burns on the
face and hands, found white mai
| lying in stateroom doorway. Dat
| Billnouso came up, and the two
dragged the man, supposed to be McElroy
out on the boiler deck. The man wss ut
| conscious from the effects of the smoke
| Just then the flames burst out up the side
| and down they jumped over the railing tt
save their lives. Hillhouse, however, sale
he heard man groaning just outside the
| cabin and he went back to rescue this man
| He never came out again and he was mol
| seen alive after that, and 1t is believed that
| he was sacrificed Ill the boble attempt tc
save another mans life. There is notelling
| just bow many lost their lives in the fire
| Some say that ten othcre are missing. But
| all that / know are the two negroes, LST"ls
| Adams and Benjamin Bush, who were
| drowned, and two white men, missing
| think two other white men were burned
| with the boat, and there must have been
| others, for don't think they had chance
to be awakened and then ESCAPE, for it was
all | could do with the smartest kihd
of running to get out alive. Had the
fire broken out one hour later, when
all the men would have been in bed, none OF
us would have escaped. AS to the origin OF
the fire l know nothing. The cook says the
boys told him before he went to sleep that
the fires in the galley were all out and every
thing safe"
The Bradish johnson was built in the
West for the Louisiana lower coast trade,
that is, from New Orleans down to the
passes of the Mississippi Captain J. Stone
brought her here and ran her on the Ala
bama and its tributaries for several years
until she was sold at marshals sale.
TWO HUNDRED LIVES LOST.
BERLIN, Dec. 31.-The removal of the snow
which fell in the late storm has revealed an
appalling loss of life. Many travellers were
6vertaken by the storm. Fifty bodies have
been found in Saxony, thirty in Thurlngla
and forty in Southern Germany. 1t is esti-
mated that the total loss of life will he 200.